Watch - Is May paranoid? Are the EU really out to get her?

Paranoid? She might well be. However, accusing the EU of trying to affect the UK election could be seen as an attempt to create hate figures, and rally nationalism across the UK, in, ironically, a cynical ploy to affect the UK election result. Exactly what she says the EU is trying to do.

May accused European politicians of making “threats” against Britain to try to influence the general election result. The PM launched a stinging attack on the “bureaucrats of Brussels” in a speech outside 10 Downing Street after meeting the Queen.

She said some in Brussels wanted Brexit talks to fail and that the European press had “misrepresented” the UK’s negotiating stance. If there is a carrot or stick approach to the EU negotiations, it looks like may has decided which she is going wield.

The EU’s executive has dismissed May’s claims that Brussels was seeking to interfere in the UK general election. “We are not naive,” the European commission’s chief spokesman, Margaritis Schinas said.

Joe is a freelance journalist who writes news and features for national newspapers and a variety of magazine titles. He studied Economics and Politics at the University of Manchester and also has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.